ARMY HUTS IN BOROUGH

Chronicle (Levin), 20 August 1946, Page 4

ARMY HUTS IN BOROUGH

COUNCIL DISCUSSES USE A DIFFICULT PROBLEM ' The erection of Army huts in the Borough was considered at the monthiy meeting of the Levin Borough Council on Monday evening, when a report on two applicatioris was submitted by the council's works cbm'mittee. It stated that Mr. J. W. Lynch had applied for consent to erect an Army hut temporarily at the rear of his business premises in Bath Street for storage purposes-. Messrs Macfarlane Transport Co/, Ltd., had also requested permission to erect temporarily an eight-man Army hut adjacent to their premises in Oxford Street to provide sleeping accommodation for two of , their transport drivers. This application, it was pointed out, was the direct result of the housing shortage. The report went on to state that the borough solicitors, Messrs Park and Bertram, had submitted their opinion- on the, erection of temporary buildings in the borough in contravention of the buildiiig by-laws. They had advised that even if any consent given was only of a temporary nature, it would be extremely difficult for the council to take any action to have such buildings removed, and that once a building was erected it would be practically impossible to have it removed unless it was injurious to health. The summing up was that if the council wished to protect itself, then it should refuse all applications. 4= The works committee, m view of the advice tendered by the borough solicitors, recommended that both ihe applications be declined. A further letter was received from Mr. Lynch pledging_ that he would give any undertaking required to remove the building when the council desired it. The Mayor (Mr. H. B. Burdekin) pointed out that Mr. Lynch might not always be the occupier of the shop, and if the building was then there the by-law would have been broken and it would be difficult for the council to have it removed. Cr. F. E. Parker said that in both cases the committee would have very much liked to make a favourable recommendation, but in view of the opinion of the borough solicitors, to have done so would have set a very dangerous precedent. Cr. C. Sherwood said he would like ' to see the council grant the lequest of Mr. Lynch, who was deserving of every help possible in his rehabilitat-ion as a returned^ serviceman, and he wondered if he would be prepared to enter into an agreement to remove the building should he vacate the premises. Cr. D. J. Gardiner asked if the huts could be vested in the council. The IViayor replied that there would be difficulties with the owners of the properties. It might be possible to obtaih the authority of the owners for the council to go on the land and remove the huts. - The - council' f elt that under the present difficult building conditions it would like to grant the requests if it could obtain power to have the buildings removed when it wished. Accordingly, the matter was referred to the Mayor and Town Clerk (Mr. H. L. Jenkins), with power to act, to take up with the borough solicitors with a view to seeing if there was any way in which the council could grant the requests and yet retain authority to have them removed when desired.